Good TV Shows

[Mikey Brown]

I've watched 4 episodes of Peaky Blinders. I want to think it's good, but... is it? What am I missing? It's quite watchable but I can't say any aspect of it is very convincing, though a lot of shows take a while to settle down.

Though I thought the night manager was terrible.

Whats not to like? it looks and sounds great. Cillian Murphy is a brilliant lead, ably supported by a superb cast with the added bonus of the wonderful Tom Hardy in last nights programme. The scene when he was goading Arthur, who just managed to stop himself from whacking him with an ashtray, was scintillating.

As I say, I don't really want to dislike it, and fear I may talk myself in to that here. But there are a lot of odd/tacky lines, some curious accents, the pacing is absolutely all over the place, endless music video sequences that I just don't get and a lot of characters I feel I've seen (better) 100 times before. Particularly the many questionable 'hard men.'

It may suffer because I have kept hearing it compared to. Boardwalk Empire. Great as Cilian Murphy is, he seems to be struggling to play Jimmy/Nicky/Harrow all at once.

There's certainly interesting places to go I just wasn't sure if it was acknowledged as taking quite a while to find its feet. I'll stress this is just what I think so far at 4 episodes in, though that is most of the first series.

Don't get me started on having multiple scenes where he wakes up sweating, screaming, bolt upright from a nightmare/flashback. Come on, that's up there with hearing a gunshot and then finding out it was the unseen 3rd man/woman that fired.

[Mikey Brown]

As an aside, Ray Donovan was (to me) a very watchable but hugely flawed rip-off of the Sopranos for quite a while and then turned in to a very interesting program kind of out of nowhere. So... yeah.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

I loved Peaky Blinders from the start.

[UGagain]

I've watched 4 episodes of Peaky Blinders. I want to think it's good, but... is it? What am I missing? It's quite watchable but I can't say any aspect of it is very convincing, though a lot of shows take a while to settle down.

Though I thought the night manager was terrible.

Agree on both.

[Numbers]

I watched the first series of The Detectorists last night, very good, Toby Jones is excellent in it, as is Mackenzie Crook.

[WaspInWales]

I watched the first series of The Detectorists last night, very good, Toby Jones is excellent in it, as is Mackenzie Crook.

Yep.

[Which Tyler]

The Last Kingdom is coming back for a second series; with Netflix on board to provide $$$.
Great news; and hopefully they can use that extra dosh to build a boat! Better late than never.

[Numbers]

The Last Kingdom is coming back for a second series; with Netflix on board to provide $$$.
Great news; and hopefully they can use that extra dosh to build a boat! Better late than never.

I haven't heard of this, please enlighten.

[Which Tyler]

The Last Kingdom is coming back for a second series; with Netflix on board to provide $$$.
Great news; and hopefully they can use that extra dosh to build a boat! Better late than never.

I haven't heard of this, please enlighten.

Adaptation of a Bernard Cornwell series of books; based on the Norse invasion of England, and King Alfred's resistance, and eventual creation of England as a nation (what is a nation?).

1st series was excellent, if a little rushed and a little short of budget (hey, it's a BBC miniseries; what else do we expect); well worth looking out - only 8 episodes, so not exactly a huge commitment of time either.

[Numbers]

The Last Kingdom is coming back for a second series; with Netflix on board to provide $$$.
Great news; and hopefully they can use that extra dosh to build a boat! Better late than never.

I haven't heard of this, please enlighten.

Adaptation of a Bernard Cornwell series of books; based on the Norse invasion of England, and King Alfred's resistance, and eventual creation of England as a nation (what is a nation?).

1st series was excellent, if a little rushed and a little short of budget (hey, it's a BBC miniseries; what else do we expect); well worth looking out - only 8 episodes, so not exactly a huge commitment of time either.

Thanks

[Galfon]

Superb finale to PB's after a slow start to the series and somewhat far-fetched story-lines.
Twists & turns all the way, great acting to support the numerous relationship nuances, staging & timing.Tom Hardy's Alfie Solomons & quirky soundtrack standouts....redemption very much the theme all round, roll on series 4.

[onlynameleft]

Agree re Line of Duty - watch them in order though.
I've more or less given up on Man in High Castle, it started well, I doubt I will find out if it does pick up again.
Haven't seen any Pesky Blinkers but will give it a try.
What I have been watching, binge watching in fact, is Suits on Netflix. I'll be bereft when I get through them all.

How many seasons through are you on Suits? I really loved the first few. There's a point when it all gets a bit too emotional rather than fun.

I'm about half way through series 2 at the moment - just in the run up to the fraud trial.

Now half way through series 3, see what you mean and really wish Rachel would bwgger off to Stanford or Columbia or wherever the hell she is going.

[WaspInWales]

Really enjoying series 3 of Bojack Horseman.

5 episodes in and it's godo!

[Which Tyler]

Looking forward to:
American Gods - Fantastic cast being signed up; and Gaimon on board as a producer.

First trailer out; though release is now slated for 2017:


Cast includes: Ian McShane, Rikki Whittle, Gillian Anderson, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Pablo Shrieber, Peter Stormare, Orlando Jones...
Bryan Fuller and Neil Gaiman doing the bulk of the writing

[WaspInWales]

That looks very interesting WT!

[Numbers]

The Night Of

This is superb telly.

IMDB Synopsis:

Naz is a straight-laced Pakistani-American student who is off to a must-attend party on a Friday night. His only available transportation being his father's taxi cab, Naz sets off into Manhattan. But his party-going plans are quickly forgotten when a mysterious young woman jumps aboard in need of a ride. Charmed by her intense intrigue and good looks, Naz gets swept up by her pressures. After a mind-altering night of drugs and passion, the woman is dead, and Naz finds himself in the cross hairs of a gruesome murder investigation, panicked and shaken, but possibly with a trace of doubt as to his own innocence.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401256/

[Mikey Brown]

Aye. Keeps you on your toes.

[rowan]

This series was hugely popular throughout the Middle East and also in Greece, the Balkans, Russia and Latin America. It is based very loosely on the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent toward the end of the 16th century. Suleyman was the longest-serving sultan, and during his reign the Ottoman Empire reached its apogee, stretching from Persia to the Maghreb, and including Greece, the Balkans and much of Eastern Europe. To be honest, it's set mostly within the harem itself and focuses chiefly on the fortunes of Hurrem, a Ukranian slave-girl Christened Alexandra, captured by Crimean Tatars (the word 'slave' comes from 'Slav,' incidentally) and sent to the Constantinople, where she survives the intrigues of her rivals to eventually become the legal wife and favorite of the sultan - not least due to her success in bearing him many sons. Most Turks believe Hurrem (brilliantly played by a Turkish-German actress, btw) ended up running the show entirely. She was undoubtedly a very shrewd and ruthless woman, and it is rumored she convinced the sultan to execute the son of her rival, first in line to the throne. In the end it was her own (third) son, Selim, who succeeded Suleyman on the throne, but sadly for the Ottoman it was his reign of drunken debauchery which precipitated the the gradual decline of the empire. I watched most of the series (over a hundred episodes of between 90 minutes and two hours) earlier this year without subtitles primarily to improve my Turkish listening skills, and it had the desired effect despite the prevalence of mostly-Arabic vocabulary and phrases now considered archaic. One thing I came to realize was just how much the Ottoman Empire owed to its predecessor Byzantium. In terms of life in the imperial court, they simply stepped in and took over from where the Eastern Roman Empire had left off. With the exception of the harem, little of this was inherent to Ottoman culture.



More description here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhte%C5% ... Czy%C4%B1l

[WaspInWales]

Looking for any comedy tv show recommendations please.

Just started Vice Principals which is ok although Danny McBride's character is pretty much Kenny Fucking Powers reborn.

[WaspInWales]

Anyone watched Kabul Kitchen?

[Numbers]

This series was hugely popular throughout the Middle East and also in Greece, the Balkans, Russia and Latin America. It is based very loosely on the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent toward the end of the 16th century. Suleyman was the longest-serving sultan, and during his reign the Ottoman Empire reached its apogee, stretching from Persia to the Maghreb, and including Greece, the Balkans and much of Eastern Europe. To be honest, it's set mostly within the harem itself and focuses chiefly on the fortunes of Hurrem, a Ukranian slave-girl Christened Alexandra, captured by Crimean Tatars (the word 'slave' comes from 'Slav,' incidentally) and sent to the Constantinople, where she survives the intrigues of her rivals to eventually become the legal wife and favorite of the sultan - not least due to her success in bearing him many sons. Most Turks believe Hurrem (brilliantly played by a Turkish-German actress, btw) ended up running the show entirely. She was undoubtedly a very shrewd and ruthless woman, and it is rumored she convinced the sultan to execute the son of her rival, first in line to the throne. In the end it was her own (third) son, Selim, who succeeded Suleyman on the throne, but sadly for the Ottoman it was his reign of drunken debauchery which precipitated the the gradual decline of the empire. I watched most of the series (over a hundred episodes of between 90 minutes and two hours) earlier this year without subtitles primarily to improve my Turkish listening skills, and it had the desired effect despite the prevalence of mostly-Arabic vocabulary and phrases now considered archaic. One thing I came to realize was just how much the Ottoman Empire owed to its predecessor Byzantium. In terms of life in the imperial court, they simply stepped in and took over from where the Eastern Roman Empire had left off. With the exception of the harem, little of this was inherent to Ottoman culture.



More description here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhte%C5% ... Czy%C4%B1l

It sounds awful.

[rowan]

As stated, it's hugely popular around much of the world. Might not be Anglocentric enough for some in your neck of the woods, but frankly who cares.

[Numbers]

As stated, it's hugely popular around much of the world. Might not be Anglocentric enough for some in your neck of the woods, but frankly who cares.

To be fair I'm not really that keen on Historical dramas, I'm sure some would like it, apologies for being so dismissive.

It still looks awful tho

[rowan]

I've actually watched very little on TV besides the news during the past couple of decades, but I watched that series on Youtube and found it quite addictive - somewhat to my own surprise. As mentioned, it was primarily to improve my Turkish listening skills, but I was also curious to see how the Turks would handle some of the great battle scenes - such as the Battle of Mohacs in Hungary and the Siege of Vienna. Regrettably, those were not among its stronger points, but the plotting and scheming within the harem was unexpectedly entertaining. I'd have to say that the acting of the main characters was outstanding and contributed to this in no small part. It was due to the fact a few of them got killed off (in accordance with actual events), that I eventually stopped watchin it about 3/4 of the way through the 139 episode series. They also replaced the German-Turk actress who played Hurrem (aka Roxelana) Sultana herself at around the 100th episode mark. The official line is she had a nervous breakdown and couldn't continue, while the rumor is she simply wanted more money. The latter is probably true, as she has since gone on to star in other series.'

[Mikey Brown]

The Night Of

This is superb telly.

IMDB Synopsis:

Naz is a straight-laced Pakistani-American student who is off to a must-attend party on a Friday night. His only available transportation being his father's taxi cab, Naz sets off into Manhattan. But his party-going plans are quickly forgotten when a mysterious young woman jumps aboard in need of a ride. Charmed by her intense intrigue and good looks, Naz gets swept up by her pressures. After a mind-altering night of drugs and passion, the woman is dead, and Naz finds himself in the cross hairs of a gruesome murder investigation, panicked and shaken, but possibly with a trace of doubt as to his own innocence.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401256/

Did you stick with this? What on earth happened?